Authorities say Howell and former Anderson County councilman Ronnie Gene Wilson promised to buy and sell silver for customers but invested little of the $90 million they took in, either losing it or keeping it for themselves. Prosecutors say Howell recommended Wilson's program to numerous people and received a commission for the investors he brought in the scheme.

In November, Wilson was sentenced to 19 years in federal prison and ordered to pay more than $57 million in restitution.